Self-referenced spectral interferometry based on self-diffraction effect

A new technique of “self-referenced spectral interferometry” is demonstrated based on a self-diffraction effect and applied to the measurement of femtosecond pulses. The reference pulse is the first-order self-diffraction pulse that is generated in a thin bulk medium by the self-diffraction process from the incident pulses. A proof-of-principle experiment succeeded in characterizing a ?55 fs pulse at 800 nm and a sub-10 fs pulse at 400 nm. The system can be simultaneously used to measure ultrashort pulses by the self-diffraction based on frequency-resolved optical gating. ©2011 Optical Society of America